Latter Rain Ministries ‘no longer homeless’

FARGO — The Rev. Gloria Shields had lived in Chicago most of her life and didn’t plan to ever leave. That is, until the Lord spoke.

“God let us know beforehand we were going to be moving out of state,” said the pastor and co-founder of Latter Rain Ministries church of her and her husband Apostle Paul’s 2003 move west.

Initially, neither knew where God was leading them, nor that they’d spend years without a church home.

About a year prior, she’d told her sister, Liz, they would be moving out of state soon, but when she asked where, Gloria responded, “I don’t know.”

“I’d never even heard of Fargo — except the movie,” Paul said, chuckling. “I’d lived in Chicago for 50 years.”

“Yeah, I must have gone to sleep in geography class,” Gloria added wryly. “But it wasn’t as hard as I thought. God prepared us emotionally and mentally, and there was just a knowing in my spirit.”

Part of that was due to a dream. “I don’t want to freak anybody out by sharing this, but I asked the Lord to give me a sign,” Gloria said, describing that, in a dream, she saw a college with a beautiful campus.

The next morning, she described this to Paul, and later, while visiting Moorhead for the first time, she couldn’t believe it. “As we were driving down 8th Street in Moorhead, I looked over at Concordia College … and I realized that was the college I’d seen in my dream!” she said.

Now, there was no going back. “I was full speed ahead — that was the comfort I needed,” she said. “We put our home in Richland Park up for sale and asked the Lord to let it sell quickly. It sold within three days.”

“It’s been quite a journey,” Paul said, “but the Lord certainly has blessed us and has confirmed his word with us. It’s a miracle, what the Lord has done for us, and we want to give God all the glory. He has great things in store.”

A story of trust

Initially, they shared space with Grace United Methodist Church in Moorhead, Gloria said. Then, in January 2005, they purchased their own building at 1603 Fifth St. N. in Fargo.

After outgrowing the church, in 2020, they sold it to Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church — the same day the White House ordered the shutdown of all churches due to Covid. “So we didn’t meet for a year,” she said.

They began streaming their services online like many, and as restrictions were lifted, started holding services outside in area parks.

“The people in the neighborhoods got to know us,” Gloria said. “We had folks come out and visit us; families would stop as they walked their children or biked in the area.”

She’s proud of the fact that they never stopped worshipping and praising the Lord, despite the challenges. “The sky is his roof, right?” she said.

As winter hit, Grace United welcomed them back, and for the past two years, the congregations have shared space. “They’d have their Bible class on Wednesday in the sanctuary, and we would have ours in the fellowship hall,” Gloria said. Several times, they even worshipped together.

But the Shields knew it was temporary, and finally, after an arduous, four-year search, “God just opened a way!” Gloria said. “We looked at a lot of warehouses and other buildings, but we believed God had a church here in town, somewhere. So we continued to pray and search, until low and behold, a church opened up!”

Now at 321 Ninth Street N. in Fargo, formerly Elim Lutheran Church, the congregation is rejoicing together, because, as Gloria said, “Latter Rain Ministries is no longer homeless!”

‘A financial miracle’

Both believe God produced a financial miracle. They’d been saving since 2018, Paul said, but needed about $100,000 more within six months’ time. “And God did bless us,” Gloria said.

Donations poured in, both from their sister churches in the Pentecost Assemblies of the World, with which they’re connected, and their own members.

The new space, which they moved into in December, has allowed them to offer a bustling youth ministry, including space for younger children and teenagers. They also provide rooms for support groups and, with a commercial-grade kitchen, are forging ahead with plans to serve the homeless.

“I believe one reason God gave us this space was to be a blessing to the community,” Paul said, to be an overflow shelter for the unhoused, along with offering a food pantry. “Part of our vision is not only that souls will be saved, but that we can be a blessing to help clothe and feed those in need.”

Though their congregation numbers are below 100, the couple believes it’s just a matter of time before their pre-Covid numbers return, and then some.

Samuel Saul, one of their associate pastors, discovered Latter Rain in 2008, after moving here from Nigeria. “I joined as somebody who wanted to fellowship and engage with the church,” he said. Not long into that association, he began actively serving in various ways.

Plans for the near future include providing a daycare for families, counseling services, and “reaching the lost — those who don’t know Jesus, or strengthening their faith in Christ,” he said.

The church welcomes, and includes, all. “I’m from West Africa,” he said. “We are from all different communities, backgrounds and cultures.”

Latter Rain Ministries has offered him encouragement, support and love. “You feel that you’re not just in this community by yourself, but that there are other folks watching out for you. They essentially became my family,” he said.

When he did quit attending for a time, it wasn’t long before another congregant spotted him in the grocery store and invited him back. “I’d never had that experience before,” he explained. “It’s a very welcoming atmosphere.”

Serving the community

Samuel also met, and married, his wife, Tarsi, there. She now overlooks the nursery and youth education. “We don’t just educate on God’s word, but give them study rooms, so…if they need a place to do homework, it’s a safe environment for them,” he said, adding that their seven children, ages 2 to 22, join in, too.

Though they have their sights set on reaching out beyond the community, providing a global outreach, the focus will remain on this community first, he said.

To that end, Latter Rain Ministries will host an upcoming, two-day event for couples and individuals, featuring Biblical therapist Evenly Mutebi of Well Spring of Life Counseling Center out of Lakeville, Minnesota.

Gratefully, the Shields say, they have never been alone in this journey. When they moved, their children, three daughters and a son, came with, and have stayed very involved in the ministry, now with their children, too.

“We were truly strangers when we got here; we didn’t know anyone,” Gloria said. “But we knew we were in God’s will, because we stayed prayerful in that process,” adding, “Don’t make life decisions without consulting God. Let him direct you. That’s where you’ll find happiness.”

[For the sake of having a repository for my newspaper columns and articles, I reprint them here, with permission, a week after their run date. The preceding ran in The Forum newspaper on Jan. 26, 2025.]

If you go

(Note: This event has passed.)

What: Two-day “Adults Only” event focusing on cultivating healthy marriages and promoting individual growth, with bowling, date night and games.
When: 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 7, to 11 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 8
Where: Latter Rain Ministries, 321 Ninth St. N., Fargo
Info: $75 per couple; $40 per single To RSVP, call 701-232-4530 or email info@lrmfm.com.